So after eyeing the Ys franchise for some time now I decided to buy a game to give the franchise a shot.

"Great so start with 1-"

No.

"But the bump combat isn't tha-"

No. Stop. The quality of the bump combat is irrelevant to why I'm not starting with 1/2.

Here's my logic: This is going to be my first experience with the franchise. As such, I want it to be an experience that will best reflect on the series as a whole. Not necessarily the best game in the entire franchise, but one that will give me a good idea of how I feel about the games. While 1/2 may be the starting point lore wise, I'm under the impression that all games are relatively standalone in plot and that the focus is more on the gameplay. As such, 1/2 will tell me very little about my opinion of the franchise as no other game has the bump system.

After doing some research, I've narrowed it down to Oath and Seven.

Oath has the advantage of starting with a more archaic system that is still reflective of overall Ys gameplay, meaning it will be a good impression of what most of the currently available franchise will offer me.

Seven has the most modern system of the Ys games (or at least of the Ys games on sale) and will give me a better impression of what the franchise will look like going forward. In addition, from what I understand seven has a better (or at least more emphasized) story and character interactions, which make it a product closer to what I'm used to in gaming and from Falcom (since I'm transferring over from Kiseki).

Currently leaning towards Seven, but I hear a lot of arguments for both sides of this discussion so I wanted some second opinions. For someone trying to get a good impression of what Ys has to offer, am I better starting off with Oath of Seven?

I've only played Memories of Celceta (First one I beat), YS VII (Just beat that a couple of days ago) and a tiny bit of VIII.

I believe I'd go with 7. Haven't played Origins but 7 is fun and I believe that is going to be a good reflection on the modern YS titles since all the ones I listed that I actually played are pretty much the same. Origins looks a lot different and if you're playing on Windows 10 then Origins may give you issues (I just found a solution that works for me but doubt it will cover everyone).

Definitelly Oath in Felghana. In my opinion Ys Seven is the least Ys-ish game and the least enjoyable in the official release. Oath in Felghana perfectly mirrors the "soul" of the series and very close to Ys I, II, Origin, and Ark of Napishtim in the nature of the story. The Ark of Napishtim is a good start too, and I would say Origin more or less requires a little experience from the original two games to enjoy the concept fully. If I remember right these three games have the same price.

Ys VIII is probably the best game in the series only comparable to Ys I. You know nothing, you have no straight goal, but you will notice how important you are very soon. A 180° turn from being a guy to being a hero to save the world no matter what. The game expensive and quite long, but do not let yourself fool by the reviews.